The present invention broadly relates to an apparatus for the dosed delivery of a granular solid material to a reaction container possessing a delivery inlet. The apparatus is provided with a delivery funnel for connection to the delivery inlet of the reaction container.
For the automatic operation of reaction processes in a reaction container, it is desirable to be able to dose or deliver the reaction components according to a predetermined time program with a high degree of accuracy or precision so that the reaction process is capable of being repeated with a high degree of accuracy and that a uniform product quality is achievable. This is also especially applicable for reaction processes which are conducted in test laboratories in order to be able to conduct test series until an optimum is achieved.
Furthermore, no gas should be able to flow into or leak out of the reaction container in an uncontrolled manner, i.e. during the interruption of delivery or dosage, a connection or communication to the outside or to a magazine or storage chamber for the reaction component to be dosed or delivered must be avoided or prevented connection or communication would lead to an uncontrolled change of this reaction components.
The delivery or dosage of liquid reaction components by means of conventional dosing pumps does not pose technical difficulties to meeting the aforesaid requirements. The known apparatus for the dosage of granular solid materials, however, do not fulfill these requirements or only partially fulfill them. A review of known apparatus as for the dosage of lumpy or chunk-like pieces of filling material, granular and pulverulent filling material is given, for example, in the magazine "Verpackungs-Rundschau", 6/1984, pages 910-922.